Economic Policy News
The Daily Signal provides economic policy news with reporting, analysis, and commentary on markets, growth, and fiscal responsibility.
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- Opinion
Early Indications Are Nothing Was Learned from Last Year’s Defense Budget Mistakes
Several days before the White House release of the fiscal year 2016 budget, the Pentagon leaked its budget request totaling $585 billion. The Department of Defense budget includes $534 billion for the base budget and $51 billion for the overseas contingency operation account, an emergency supplemental that is exempt from the spending caps established in…Diem Salmon -
- News
Here’s Paul Ryan’s Recipe for Achieving Economic Freedom
Rep. Paul Ryan has a simple recipe for how the U.S. can achieve greater economic freedom. Ryan, R-Wis., said Tuesday that stronger trade policies and stomping out cronyism can make the country’s economy more free. Ryan, speaking at the Heritage Foundation to introduce the 21st edition of the Index of Economic Freedom, joked that he’s…Kate Scanlon -
- Opinion
2015 Economic Freedom of Japan
Japan’s economic freedom score is tied for the second highest it’s ever been since the Index of Economic Freedom was first published more than 20 years ago. Scoring a 73.3, Japan ranks 20th in the world for economic freedom, an improvement over the previous year’s rank of 25. It continues to rank sixth among countries…Riley Walters -
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In Index of Economic Freedom, U.S. Is 12th Freest Economy
There is no single formula for overcoming challenges to economic development and maintaining economic dynamism, but one thing is clear: Around the globe, governments that respect and promote economic freedom provide greater opportunities for innovation, progress and human empowerment. The 2015 Index of Economic Freedom, released today, tracks policy developments affecting economic freedom across the…Anthony B. Kim -
- Opinion
Pushing Reforms in 2015 for Japan’s Economy
This year will be important for Japan’s economic growth as the country continues to struggle to control its debt problem. In the coming months, observers should watch several key indicators of Japan’s economic performance. Given Japan’s economic troubles, it is important that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe push ahead with his “third arrow” reforms, including continued…Riley Walters -
- News
There Hasn’t Been One Since 2001. Can This New Budget Chairman Deliver a Balanced Budget?
A balanced budget and health care reform. Those are two things Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., is pledging to deliver as he takes the helm of the House Budget Committee. Price delivered a speech outlining his priorities for the Budget Committee during the 2015 Conservative Policy Summit. Heritage Action for America, the lobbying arm of The…Melissa Quinn -
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Facing Budget Shortfall, State Considers ‘Sin Tax’ on Cigarettes
CULLMAN, Ala.—As the power structure in Montgomery looks for ways to make up a budget shortfall in 2015, a state cigarette tax increase may be on the table. Gov. Robert Bentley has said he might sign a bill if it came across his desk after some legislators expressed an interest in targeting cigarettes as a…Johnny Kampis -
- Opinion
How the Laffer Curve Changed America’s Economy
It was 40 years ago this month that two of President Gerald Ford’s top White House advisers, Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld, gathered for a steak dinner at the Two Continents restaurant in Washington with Wall Street Journal editorial writer Jude Wanniski and Arthur Laffer, former chief economist at the Office of Management and Budget….Stephen Moore -
- News
Why Alan Greenspan Says the US Economy Is Still ‘Sluggish’
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned Americans that despite recent good news, the U.S. economy remains “sluggish.” Greenspan attributes the slow growth to the continued weakness in the capital goods market, saying this sector has been nearly cut in half since the 2008 financial crash. “The United States is doing better than anybody else,…Natalie Johnson -
- Opinion
How India Can Unleash Its Economic Potential
“The hope for India lies not in the exceptional Tatas or similar giants, but precisely in the hole-in-the-wall firms, in the small- and medium-size enterprises, in Ludhiana, not Jamshedpur; in the millions of small entrepreneurs who line the streets of every city with their sometimes minuscule shops and workshops. If the tendencies so evident in…Joel Anand Samy -
- Opinion
The Economy Just Had the Strongest Growth in a Quarter Since 2009
There is no doubt that the economy has languished in its recovery from the Great Recession, which ended more than five years ago. But signs are emerging that it is finally shaking free the weight of President Obama’s anti-growth policies. The latest bit of good news is that the economy grew at 5 percent in the third…Curtis Dubay -
- Opinion
The IRS May Be Underfunded But It Still Deserved to Have Its Budget Cut
IRS Commissioner Josh Koskinen complained recently about Congress cutting the agency’s budget by $350 million in the recent budget deal. Koskinen warns that taxpayer service will be hurt because the IRS will have to furlough employees and make other adjustments because of the reduction of funding. The IRS has an impossible job. It is tasked…Curtis Dubay -
- Opinion
Why Are We Spending a Billion Dollars on Government Preschool?
President Obama’s administration just announced a $1 billion initiative ($750 million in federal grants and the remainder from private funding) to enroll more children in government preschool programs. The new measure was announced formally at the White House Summit on Early Education last week. The push comes on the heels of President Obama’s speech on…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
What Happened in the Last Economic Slump the Government Didn’t Try to Fix
James Grant’s excellent new book, The Forgotten Depression: 1921: The Crash That Cured Itself, tells the story of “America’s last governmentally untreated depression.” Just prior to the Roaring Twenties, the U.S. went into a deep economic slump but soon recovered—despite no active government stimulus policies. That sort of government inaction, of course, is very different…Norbert Michel -
- Opinion
The Fed’s Attempt to Kickstart the Economy Simply Isn’t Working
The Federal Reserve should stop trying to stimulate the economy for two reasons. First, the policies it has enacted so far have contributed very little to the economic recovery. Second, it likely has reached the limits of what monetary policy can do to boost the economy. The Fed’s unconventional “quantitative easing” programs have filled the…Norbert Michel -
- News
House Narrowly OKs Government Spending Bill as Wrangling Goes Down to the Wire
With a midnight deadline looming, the House of Representatives tonight voted 219-206 to pass a $1.1 trillion spending bill to keep the government running. “My job tonight is to say thank you and Merry Christmas,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told lawmakers at the conclusion of the vote. Conservatives were unhappy that the spending measure…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
Omnibus Bill Keeps Welfare Spending at Massive Levels
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty. Since that time, annual means-tested welfare spending has increased by 16-fold, now costing taxpayers nearly $1 trillion a year. And the omnibus bill keeps spending at this sky-high level. The means-tested welfare system is massive and is the fastest growing part of government spending. The…Rachel Sheffield -
- News
Government Spending Bill Faces Uncertain Fate
With a deadline looming to avoid another partial shutdown of government, members of Congress, staffers and interest groups are gearing up for a House vote Thursday on a long-awaited spending bill, which arrived at the 11th hour. Republicans and Democrats released the text of the massive government-funding bill late Tuesday night. Dubbed the “CRomnibus” for its marriage of…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
Bad News for Kids: Huge New Spending Bill Doesn’t Include Much of a Reprieve From Harsh School Lunch Rules
The new spending bill, or as it’s been dubbed on Twitter, the #CRomnibus, doesn’t include even a temporary waiver provision to give some schools a reprieve from new and problematic federal school meal standards. The USDA’s new school lunch and breakfast requirements, implementing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, have been a disaster. The overly prescriptive…Daren Bakst -
- News
38 Tweets About #CRomnibus, the Government Spending Bill Inspiring Bipartisan Opposition
Last night, House Republicans released a massive $1.1 trillion spending bill that would fund most of the government through Sept. 30, 2015. Here’s how you’re reacting to the news on Twitter. Brace yourselves. The $1 trillion pork-stuffed #cromnibus has landed. Thud: http://t.co/2q8dH6I8kz — Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) December 10, 2014 Rank-and-file split on #cromnibus funding bill:…Rob Bluey